NanoClay: Turning sandy soil into fertile soil

A technology to transform poor-quality sandy soils into high-yield agricultural land

The Problem

Through a combination of climate change, drought, overgrazing and other human activities, desertification is on the rize. Desertification is defined by the UN as “land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions”. Given that around 40 per cent of the Earth’s land surface is already occupied by drylands increasing desertification is worrying. A recent report from the Economics of Land Degradation Initiative claimed that desertification is costing the world as much as US $10.6 trillion every year.

The Solution

Desert Control, a Norwegian startup, is developing new technologies to combat desertification. Their most successful product, NanoClay, is a patented water and clay mixture that effectively converts arid land into fertile soil. The conversion process from arid to fertile soil normally takes seven to fifteen years; with nanoclay, it only takes only seven hours.

Stage of Development

Early Stage

Established Prototype

Scaling

Other

Organization to Receive Funds

Shared Nation would support Desert Control, which is responsible for developing Nano Clay.

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